Buggy-top



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

C. AQBEHLEN.

BUGGY TOP. No. 375,861. Patented Jan. 3, 1888.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES A. BEI-I LEN,

OF CINCINNATI, oIIIo.

BUGGY-TOP'.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 375,861, dated January3, 1888.

Application filed August 25, 1857. Serial No. 217524. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. BEHLEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State .of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buggy Tops, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My present invention is an improvement on the buggy-top for which on the23d day of November, 1886, I obtained Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, said LcttersPatent being num bered 353,195.

As buggy'tops are now constructed, they, when raised, are openandexposed at their upper fron's, thus exposing the occupant and theinterior of the vehicle to the inclemency of the weather-such as rain,snow, sleet, & c.-while when thrown back the interior lining, or agoodly portion of it, is exposed, consequently permitting the dust ormud to settle thereon, causing damage as well as much labor in clean:ing.

The object of my improvements is to remedy thcsedefecls; and this isaccomplished by causing a hood to be attached to the front bow of thetop, which, when the latter is raised, will protect the occupant and theinterior of the vehicle, and when thrown back cover the lining, so as tokeep off any substance of a soiling nature or tendency. These featureswill be understood from the description which I will hereinafter giveand by reference to the accompanying drawings, forming part of myapplication, in which Figure 1 is a side View of a buggy-top con tainingmy improvements, the top being raised and the leather covering on theside near the spectator being removed in order to show the various partsand the positions they occupy. Fig. 2 is a front view of the top whenraised. Fig. 3 is a side view of the top when thrown back. Fig. 4 is aplan view of the top when thrown back, the leather or other coveringbeing entirely removed from the bows. Fig. 5 is an enlarged side view ofmy horizontal sustaining hinged brace and the ordinary knucklejointedbrace, and shows the manner of this application to the supporting-bows.Fig. 6 is a top View of same. Figs. 7 and 8, respect ively, show myimprovements applied to a buggytop which has three or more uprightsustaining frame-bows, Fig. 7 showing the top provided with three suchbows, and Fig. 8 with four.

It may be remarked here that while my improvements are designedprincipally for tops wherein the ordinary angular frame-bow is omitted,still they are not incapable of being used on tops that have suchfeatures, but may be used on such with practical advantage.

A represents the buggyseat, and B the back thereof; 0, D, and E, theordinary supportingbows, the how 0 being inclined rearwardly, as shown,instead of forwardly, as in tops of the ordinary construction.

F G H are the ordinary knuckle-jointed braces, the brace G beingattached to the in terior of the top, the other two to the exterior.These jointed braces and bows are at taehed to one another asordinarily, and are supported on the seat through the ordinary rail, R,which is affixed to most seats.

I is the top covering, usually ofleather, and lined on the inside withcloth. This covering, instead of only extending to and ending at the how0, as in ordinary tops, is continued down and its end attached to thecross-piece J.

K is my brace (of which there are two, one on each side of the interior)for supporting the front of the top when it is raised and enabling it tobe thrown back when desired. These braces are composed of two parts, iand 0, and are hinged together at it, the connection being an inclinedone, as shown.

P is a plate attached to the bow G by means of nails or screws, and tothis plate, in the form of a hinge, h, is attached the free end of thebrace part z, the incline of the hinge h corresponding in direction anddegree to nearly that of hinge n. The free end of part 0 is also hingedto a plate, L, attached to bow D; but this hinge is straight andvertical with respect to the bow to which it is attached, as shown. Thislatter hinge is designated by the letter 1).

In my patent, No. 353,195, hereinbefore referred to, the hinges h and nwere inclined in a direction opposite to that shown in the draw iugs ofthe present application. There the front bow,when the top is beingthrown back, will be raised up, and when altogether back said bow willlie beyond the other bows; but

in the present case,when the collapsing is taking place the bow will bebrought down, and when the top is thrown completely back the said frontbow, C, in connection with crosspiece J and the formed hood, will assumea position such as will cover whatever portion of the tops lining thatmay be exposed, and thus protect it from dust, dirt, or any othersubstance which would cause injury or trouble. This will be made moreapparent from the op eration of the various parts, which will now begiven in detail.

We will suppose the top is in its raised po sition, as indicated by saidFig. 1, and it is desired to have it thrown back. The jointed braces Fon the outside are broken, as indi cated by the arrow. This action willpermit sustaining-braces K on the interior of the top to collapse, thecollapsing being through the instrumentality of the hinges n and h, andtheir direction is inwardly or toward the oecu pant of the vehicle. Asthe collapsing is continued, the parts i will depart from a horizontalposition and assume a downward angular course, drawing with it the bow Oand attached cross-piece J, which are also gradually assuming a downwardposition-that is, downward with respect to the bow D. This will continueuntil further collapsing is prevented by the bow 0 being brought upagainst the bow D. The former is now supported in its present posit-ionby the forward part of brace F, in con nection with part i of thesustaining-brace K. The braces G and H are then broken, as ordinarily,and there being no other prop to the top the bows D and E are pushedback, bringing with them the whole of the top. The parts will then haveassumed the positions indicated by the side view, Fig. 3, or the topView, Fig. 4.

Now it will be observed that should any portion of the lining or topsinterior be eX- posed, the hood, formed by the continuation of thecovering I over the bow O and down to crosspiece J, will overlap, cover,and protect the same from the annoying features hereinbefore enumerated.Whatever dust or dirt is flying will fall on the outside of the leathercovering, where it does no injury and can be easily brushed off. Thetops now in use do not have this hood, and consequently from the bow Oinwardly to the seat considerable of the interior is exposed, thuspermitting the dirt and other objectionable matter to have free accessthereto and accumulate thereon with the attendant results.

I represents the ordinary leather strips or stays surrounding the backof the top, and between which the back curtain is fastened. is optionalwhetheror not thejointed brace G is employed. Therefore in Sheet 1' ofthe drawings I show it in use; but in Figs. 7 and 8 it is omitted.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a buggy-top, a protectinghood formed between therearwardly-inclined front bow, G, and cross-support J, in combinationwith sustaining-braces K on each side of the top, the said braces beingcomposed of two parts, i and 0, connected together by an inclined hinge,12, their outer ends being attached, respectively, to bows O and D by aninclined'and vertical hinge, as h andp, the hinge h beinginsubstantially the same direction as hinge 11, whereby when the top isthrown back the hood will cover and protect the interior lining,substantially as shown and described.

2. A buggytop comprising the following elements: the seat A, sustainingthe bows D E through the rail It, and the covering I,in combination withjointed braces F H, the side sustaining-braces K, composed of the partsi 0, joined by an inclined hinge, a, theirouterends being provided withan inclined and vertical hinge, respectively, attached torearwardly-inclined bow G and bow D, whereby the hood, formed betweenthe said bow O and the crosspiece J, will be supported when the top israised and cover the exposed parts of the tops interior when the same isthrown back, substantially as shown and described.

3. The rearwardly-inclined front bow, (l, bow D, intermediate sidebraces, K, divided into parts 21 0, which are joined together by theinclined hinge n, and connected to said bows G D by inclined hinge h andvertical hinge 1), respectively, in combination with the top-covering I,which extends below the bow O and is fastened to the crosspiece J,whereby a hood is formed, the bow E, and jointed exterior braces, 1* H,all arranged substantially as shown and described, and for the purposesspecified.

4. In a buggy-top, the supportingbows D E, exterior jointed braces, Hand G, and interior braces F, in combination with the covering I,rearwardly-inclined bow C, crosssupport J, and braces K, composed ofparts i 0, connected together byinclined hinges n, the outer parts beingrespectively attached to bows and D by inclined hinge hand verticalhinge p, and the whole supported on a seat, as A, substantially as shownand described, and for the purposes specified.

CHARLES A. BEHLEN. \Vitnesses:

O. ALBEITZART, CHARLES LEHMER.

